Friday, November 25, 2011

Wow, I hadn't realised just how long it's been since I had a share. Life has been pulling me in all sorts of directions lately and I've been just trying to keep my head above water, one day at a time! :)

I have been creating, just not a lot I can share yet. I've been making all sorts of creative plans for the new year that are just a bit exciting too!!! .... can't share those yet either {doh!!}

OK, so last night I finished off my Secret Santa gift that we have going on over at The Boxx and have plans to get cracking on my advent calendar today. After three years of 'advent calendar making intentions' , I finally ordered my supplies and can't wait to make a start. It's been ages since I did something off the page and I'm really looking foward to it. Promise to show you a little 'step-by-step' once I'm done.... :)

So, onto my share for today. The November installment in my Book of You Kits is up at The Boxx and this month is all about 'The Things I Can't Live Without'.

A lovely blend of 7Gypsies Off the Wall, Basic Grey Out of Print and Bo Bunny Forever Fall papers, not to mention the AWESOME Prima resist canvas shapes. The 7Gypsies Rubbings, Pyramid Brads and Carolee Creations alpha stickers finish this kit off just nicely.

I tried to look past the obvious things that would be common to all of us and really thought about the things that keep me going when everything around me seems to be falling apart. The things that make me realise that day-to-day problems are only fleeting and that there are so many more important things to focus on.

I believe wholeheartedly in the power of laughter. I laugh a lot... at almost anything! Nothing heels like a good giggle. You know the ones. You try to hold onto it and it just erupts with Vesuvian power, refusing to abate until you are rendered a useless sobbing mess, drenched in your own tears! The same applies to the sound of my children laughing. Their joy is most definitely music to my ears and one of the things that I could never live without.

{music of laughter}

This photo was taken a couple of years ago during a Christmas Card photo shoot. I don't think I got one decent shot, but there were plenty of out-takes and giggles, so it wasn't a total loss! lol

The second layout is totally predictable, yet unavoidably true. It is all about the one person that I couldn’t do without. My best friend, my sounding board, my comforter.... my guy.

{mine}

oopsie... sorry about the lean! lol. Just cock your head slightly to the right... :)

OMG I love Prima's resist canvas!

Instructions for these layouts are available to kit subscribers in the BOY kit group. I'd love to see what you make with it. :)

Okay, apologies for waffling! Best be off.... the advent calendar awaits.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

I hope you have all been well. We have been busy with just 'stuff' really. Maddi with assignments and exams, which means mum is the support crew... more so than normal I mean! Helping with a bit of research, formating, late night editing, software troubleshooting... not to mention the delivery of stress relief techniques!

The Christmas parties and work functions have started already so, due to my newly rediscovered quest for fitness and regaining a body shape that does not resemble an orange.... guess who the designated driver and picker-uperer is? :)

Anyhow... no creativeness at all this past week or so! :(

And to make matters worse, I have some unbelieveably exciting news that I can't share yet!

So why am I here at all?

Well, I just wanted to show you my guy...

Actually, this was him at the end of last Movember ... and he's doing it again!﻿

He and a group of workmates are all participating in Movember this year and their employer is matching every dollar raised! The aim of Movember is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men.

I must say, I don't mind the look of it... not sold on the texture though. :)

If anyone would like to make a donation to this worthy cause, then you can do so online here.

Thanks for stopping by .... I hope the next couple of days are spent making up for my recent enforced abstinence from creativity!!

Monday, November 7, 2011

A big bits and pieces share today. With the release of the Scrapboxx bumper issue Sept/Oct newsletter, I can finally share my latest Book of You Kit Layouts. I made up an absolutely gorgeous Bo Bunny Et Cetera kit this month.... I totally fell in love with this range as soon as I saw it's CHA release, and there are so many goodies in it!!

This month is all about the things that you think define the person you are. This is actually a lot harder to put into words that you think on the surface of it all. The things that define you go far deeper than just using words to describe yourself. The things that define us are an accumulation of experiences, how we have dealt with these experiences, the people that have shaped us and why we do the things we do. Not just what we like and don’t like, but why? How do you put into words what is at your very core?

I think you just have to start writing and hope that, somewhere in between the lines, is what makes you tick. That is what I did anyway... and this is by no means exhaustive. I could go on and on and write pages of this stuff. But, I think you just have to start somewhere and break it up into smaller tasks. What defines you could be a ‘Book of You’ all of it’s own... maybe a mini album?

{Defining Me}

{gasp}... a big photo? I know, different for me huh? :)) I also printed it onto transparency, so as not to lose any of that gorgeous grungy background detail of the filigree die cut shape.

For my second layout, I thought about the things that play a role in shaping who we are. For me, the biggest indication of a person’s nature has to be the types of people they choose to have around them. How many times have we heard the saying “You can tell a person by the company they keep”, or words to that effect? Our friends (unlike family..lol) are around us because we have chosen them. For whatever reason, we have gravitated toward them. For this reason, this page had to be about my bestie, whom (I would hope) speaks volumes as to my character, and I love her to death! :)

Onto family goings on, and thanks so much for all the well wishes for our camping trip this weekend... and the maiden voyage of our new camper trailer. We had a fantastic time. The weather was nice to us, not too hot and no rain. We all had a great time, lots of chillin' out, punctuated with lots of swimming and playing. I thought I'd share a couple of shots from our weekend.

The Location:﻿

The Humble Little Campsite:

The Essential Supplies:

The Water Play:

The Skipping Stones:

The Lunch Time Muster:

The Relaxing of Rules:

... when would this little boy be able to scoff an entire box of cheezels otherwise!

The Chillin':

The Chillin' Continued:

... And Continued:

... And Totally Chilled:

Lovely way to spend a couple of nights. Back to reality and aaaaalll that cleaning now!

Oh, and the new camper was an absolute dream. So quick and easy to set up/pack up, and so many convenient features!! :) I'm sure there are many fun times to be had with her. Yes, I do think she is a her... but I haven't come up with a name yet. :))

Thanks for stopping by lovely ladies and I hope you all have a fantastic week.... now, onto that fifth load of washing!! lol

Friday, November 4, 2011

I've scheduled this post as I am presently packing those last minute items for our camping trip this weekend and getting ready to pick the kids up a little early from school.... then we are outta here for a couple of days of R&R in the brand new camper. Nice! :)

OK... on to creative things though. Friday also means a new palette is up over at The Colour Room, and for some reason, I went all Vintage with it.

{my 2 beauties}

And the palette:

It doesn't exactly scream vintage I know, so I'm not quite sure why it took me there, or why I made grey a real feature colour in this page. It's a colour I don't use much, so it was nice to try something different.

Head on over to TCR and check out what the rest of the DT have showcased this week. Amazingly stunning as always! :))

Have a lovely weekend lovely ladies. I will be! :)) I'm sure I'll have lots of pics in my next post, documenting her maiden voyage (the camper trailer I mean). I'm kinda thinking we will have to name her though... what do you think? :)

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Yeah that's right!! The lovely headmistress at Miss Art's Papercrafting School is offering my class, completely FREE, for a very limited time this weekend!!

Here is the add below:

Has Halloween left you covered in sweet wrappers, partially duct tapped to your child's abandoned costume with a bank account balance that's more trick than treat? If your feeling more hallow than happy let Miss Art's headmaster treat you to a fantastic, but time sensitive offer. For this weekend only, (November 4 - 6th) enjoy a tuition free class designed to renew your creativity, and go easy on your wallet. You can even snack on the candy "taxes" you've stolen from the kiddos while taking the class. Beginning on Friday, November 4th, you will have 3 days to check out one of our most popular classes for free, no subscription needed. In “Layered Layouts”, you will accompany our inspired resident architect, Julie Winks, as she explains the essential underpinnings of daringly designed layouts. We hope to see you in the class room and if you enjoy our class that you'll be kind enough to leave an apple or a comment for the teacher.

So, have that little mouse clicking finger at the ready this Friday morning (4th November)

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Oooooh I just love the start of the month... especially when it comes to blog browsing! So much talent and inspiration ... so little time! lol

Anyway, a quick post today, so I can start browsing.....

The Kraft It Up challenge this month is to incorporate hidden journaling on you page, using Kraft as a base. Can you guess where my journaling is hidden? :)

{my girls}

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hmmmmm ?

give up?

hehee....

okay, enough fun. Here it is:

omgosh!! I even used my own handwriting!! lol

This photo is quite a few years old now, but I can't believe I've never scrapped it before.

I just used a Hambly transparent frame with a strip of Kraft glued to the underside as a journaling card. I then glued this to one segment of the Hambly transparent butterfly spray, which in this case also acts as a handle or pull tab. To stop it from moving around between my base (the Tim Holtz resist Kraft) and the foreground piece of Kraft, I stuck two lines of large foam dots down on either side of the journaling strip, in between these two pieces of Kraft. I also sandwiched a large foam dot at the bottom edge of the layout too to stop the journaling from shooting out the bottom of the page. (I hope that makes sense!) :)

This layout is pretty much all Prima and Hambly, with one lonesome little Kaiser bloom and the Tim Holtz resist Kraft, which I just LOVE. It seems to look best when you use a lighter coloured ink over the top too I've noticed. It shows up the awesome resist pattern better. And as always, no layout is complete without the use of a CW template somewhere! The script is a Kaiser stamp with just a tiny smear of gesso on it (I didn't have any white ink!).

So much for my quick post.

Will be back real soon with more. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you picked a winner in The Cup!